Heart of Steel: Concert
Review

The Headbanger's Ball Tour passed through Vancouver on November 14th
and I had to pleasure of checking it out. For those who don't know, The
Headbanger's Ball is a program that airs on MTV and features an hour of
(mostly) metal videos. The show was on the station in the 80s when metal
still got played and then was removed during the grunge years only to
reappear this year. To promote the program, MTV sponsored this tour that
features Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God and God Forbid.
Despite being sponsored by MTV, this line-up is considered by some as a
"who's-who" of North American metal that doesn't rely on radio
play or gimmicks to sell records. They aren't nu-metal or mallcore. If
such a term exists, they could be called the "New Wave of American
Heavy Metal". Young bands who won't sell their souls to the highest
bidder or produce an album of "hits" to get on the radio. In
other words, this is what metal SHOULD be!!

It's always a treat to see a multi-band bill where ALL the bands
are personal favorites. You aren't hanging out at the bar during a set or
having to show up late to "miss" the opening acts. These 4 bands
are all solid. Killswitch Engage's ALIVE OR JUST BREATHING and Shadows
Fall's THE ART OF BALANCE CDs were two of my favorites releases in 2002
and Lamb of God's AS THE PALACES BURN is high atop my list of favorites
for 2003.

God Forbid

As
for the fourth band, I had only heard of God Forbid by name before this
night, but they quickly won me over with their chugging blend of metal and
hardcore. What instantly makes this New Jersey band separate from the rest
is that 4 out of 5 members are African-American. Not that skin color makes
a lick of difference in whether or not a band can rock or not (Living
Color, Bad Brains), but in the metal world, it is certainly a rare thing.
Lead growler Byron Davis, who is a hulk of a man, stalked the stage
glaring at the audience from behind is shoulder-length dreadlocks. Though
I was unfamiliar with most of the songs in their 30-minute set, two that
stood out were "Broken Promise" and "Better Days".
Most of the crowd seemed familiar with "Broken Promise" and sang
along to this ultra-heavy track, while the small but impressive moshpit
went wild. This was God Forbid's first date as support on the tour having
replaced Unearth. Before the final song of their set, Davis announced the
band have a new album coming out in February 2004 and I just might pick it
up based on their performance here.

Lamb of God

After
a quick 20-minute changeover of sets, Lamb of God stormed out to a very
enthusiastic crowd. Singer Randy Blythe is a tall, wiry guy with a haircut
that reminded me of The Misfits but when he screams into the mike, his
size is of no hindrance. He ran around the stage bellowing into the mike
and got right into the crowd for a sing-a-long during the title track from
the new album. Guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton trade riffs back
and forth with Chris Adler offering up some double-bass drumming that was
just as impressive as his foot-long goatee. Lamb of God is one of my
favorite new American bands and they don't embarrass this continent with
chants of "JUMP…JUMP" or any trace of mallcore in their
brutally heavy music. Local metal guru Devin Townsend (Strapping Young
Lad) co-produced the new Lamb of God album with the band and Randy Blythe
gave thanks to him and the Vancouver metal scene dedicating "Black
Label" to us. The band's 45-minute set was an even mix of songs from
their two albums 2000's NEW AMERICAN GOSPEL ("Black Label",
"The Subtle Arts of Murder and Persuasion") and this year's AS
THE PALACES BURN ("Boot Scraper", "11th Hour",
"As The Palaces Burn"), with a rarity from the band's early days
when they were still known as Burn The Priest ("Duane").

Shadows Fall

Much
to my surprise, Shadows Fall was NOT headlining the show and came
out next. I found out later that Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage and Lamb
of God rotate between the opening slot on each date of the tour. This was
my second time seeing Shadows Fall in 4 months and though they didn't
impress me as much the first time around, they more than made up for it
this night. The 50-minute setlist was, of course, heavy with tracks from
THE ART OF BALANCE including "Destroyer of Senses", "Idle
Hands", "Stepping Outside the Circle", A Fire In
Babylon" and "Thoughts Without Words" but the band also
included material from their major label debut, 2000's OF ONE BLOOD
("Revel In My Loss"). This last track features death metal
vocals from rhythm guitarist Matthew Bachand and is certainly one of the
band's heaviest songs. Shadows Fall also features something that has
become a missing piece of American metal: guitar solos. Lead guitarist
Jonathan Donais can alternate between shredding and clean solos on a dime
and really shines on "A Fire In Babylon". Singer Brian Fair (he
of the four-foot long dreadlocks) screams bloody murder into the mike and
wasn't shy about getting the crowd to help him with choruses and even
sampled some of our infamous "B.C. bud" offered to him by a guy
in the front. I'm glad Shadows Fall made a better impression on me the
second time because they are an excellent band who bridge so many genres
with their music that after being so impressed with their CDs, their
previous live show left a bad taste in my mouth.

Killswitch Engage

My
favorite band on the bill wrapped up the show: Killswitch Engage. These
guys are from Massachusetts and really impressed me when I saw them in
July. They had a lot to live up to and they met and exceeded my
expectations. Once again, towering guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was the most
eye-catching presence on stage with his pork chop sideburns and missing
eyebrows. Perhaps what made him most noticeable was the fact that as he
bounded on stage, he lost his footing and fell flat on his ass…and
didn't miss a beat! The band kept playing as well despite cracking up at
Dutkiewicz' spill and repeated replaying of the event. With Dutkiewicz
vertical again, the band powered through a 45-minute set featuring
"Numbered Days", "Life To Lifeless", "Fixation On
the Darkness", "The Element Of One",
"Self-Revolution" and "My Last Serenade". Vocalist
Howard Jones (again, not to be confused with the British synth-pop
cheeseball from the 80s) admitted being sick on this night but hid it well
as he spit out each tune with increasing venom and flew around the stage.
Joel Stroetzel once again let his massive hair do the work as he
headbanged along while riffing on rhythm guitar. Bassist Mike D'Antonio
also plays a big part in the sound of Killswitch Engage, as his low,
rumbling bass is always evident. The band's best-known track, "My
Last Serenade", featured the sadly half-full Commodore singing along
to the chorus with Jones. Chants of "KILLSWITCH…KILLSWITCH"
remained unanswered, as the band did not re-emerge for an encore.

While making my way towards the door after the show, I ran
into Brian Fair and Randy Blythe enjoying a cold one with fans. I asked
for a photo with the two singers who politely obliged which ended the
evening on a real high note. Though the band's sets were all relatively
short, the crowd seemed generally pleased with the show. The headbangers
and moshers were kept busy with Lamb of God, Shadows Fall and Killswitch
Engage, while the metalcore enthusiasts gave God Forbid a nice welcome to
the bill. The Headbanger's Ball Tour showcased some of the best young
bands American metal has to offer. Don't let the MTV sponsorship
discourage you from seeing this show if it hits your town because this
ain't no rap-fuelled mallcore, my friends.